Computing systems are useful tools for the exchange of information among individuals. The information may include, but is not limited to, data, voice, graphics, and video. The exchange is established through interconnections linking the computing systems together in a way that permits the transfer of electronic signals that represent the information. The interconnections may be either wired or wireless. Wired connections include metal and optical fiber elements. Wireless connections include infrared and radio wave transmissions.
A plurality of interconnected computing systems having some sort of commonality represents a network. For example, individuals associated with a college campus may each have a computing device. In addition, there may be shared printers and remotely located application servers sprinkled throughout the campus. There is commonality among the individuals in that they all are associated with the college in some way. The same can be said for individuals and their computing arrangements in other environments including, for example, healthcare facilities, manufacturing sites and Internet access users. In most cases, it is desirable to permit communication or signal exchange among the various computing systems of the common group in some selectable way. The interconnection of those computing systems, as well as the devices that regulate and facilitate the exchange among the systems, represent a network. Further, networks may be interconnected together to establish internetworks.
The devices that are designed to effect computer system interconnection include, but are not limited to, routers, gateways, switches, bridges, hubs, and repeaters. There are a variety of suppliers of such devices. While the means of signal exchange has been substantially well defined through accepted standards and protocols, there remain variations in certain important aspects of individual supplier devices, such as the Command Line Interface (CLI). The CLI is the means by which a network administrator configures the particular operating attributes of one or more of the signal exchange devices associated with a network. Although the basic functioning of particular devices offered by different suppliers may be the same, the configuration commands or scripts associated with equivalent functionality often vary. For that reason, it can be difficult for a network administrator to acquire and implement network equipment from different suppliers without undertaking significant effort to ensure that the commands suitable for one device equate to the commands for a similar device from a different vendor.
Presently, the network administrator must manually translate the CLI commands associated with one supplier's device(s) to those associated with a different supplier's device(s), if configuration compatibility is desired. Alternatively, the administrator is left with the choice of using network devices from a sole source with common CLI configuration scripts. Such a choice may be undesirable if that sole source is not the most cost effective one.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and related method to translate easily, and preferably substantially automatically, the configuration function of one system type to the configuration function of a different system type.